Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - singular

 I. adjective  Etymology: Middle English singuler, from Anglo-French, from Latin ~is, from singulus only one — more at single  Date: 14th century  1.  a. of or relating to a separate person or thing ; individual  b. of, relating to, or being a word form denoting one person, thing, or instance a ~ noun  c. of or relating to a single instance or to something considered by itself  2. distinguished by superiority ; exceptional an artist of ~ attainments  3. being out of the ordinary ; unusual on the way home we had a ~ adventure  4. departing from general usage or expectation ; peculiar, odd the air had a ~ chill  5.  a. of a matrix having a determinant equal to zero  b. of a linear transformation having the property that the matrix of coefficients of the new variables has a determinant equal to zero  Synonyms: see strange  • ~ly adverb  II. noun  Date: 14th century  1. the ~ number, the inflectional form denoting it, or a word in that form  2. a ~ term